A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

So, here we are 5 days into the New Year!  How are your New Year's Resolutions going? Are you still getting into the gym, walking a little bit every day, taking a new exercise class or working out to your new DVDs at home?  Good for you!  GREAT for you actually!  You are taking a positive step in the right direction! 

Have you ever heard someone say "Abs are made in the kitchen"?  A more accurate statement would be "A fit body is made in the kitchen"!  Why?  80% of your results are determined by the food you eat!! Yeah.. I said 80%!  What you eat has a far greater impact on your body composition and physique goals than ANY other fitness component!!  I was shocked by this information when I read it so I thought it was very important to share it early on!

So, what does this tell us? It tells us we have to be informed.  We have to make good decisions and we have to figure out the best way to feed our body.  I say we have to be informed and this means more than just guessing that something is healthy or the best thing to eat.  A LOT of food choices are "wolves in sheep's clothing"!

For example, when I decided that I would eat better I thought no better way than to have a smoothie right from the counter at my gym!  This HAS to be healthy... it is being served at my gym first of all and second it's a smoothie! Excellent!  I had my delicious "Sunrise Sunset" smoothie from Tropical Smoothie and just knew that I was making a good choice! And, compared to the Burger King or McDonald's fries, I was!  So, I got home and looked up the nutritional information and WOW... I had just consumed 423 calories, .22 grams of fat (that's the only good news!), 109.22 grams of carbs and 2.83 grams of protein. 

Now, keep in mind, I am trying to lose weight so my calories have been cut back to about 1200 per day... and I am supposed to eat 6 times a day to keep my metabolism revved up... and I just ate a little over 1/3 of those total calories in ONE "meal".  After some further research, I found out that the smoothies at Tropical Smoothie are made with turbinado which is a natural, unrefined sugar that is derived from sugar cane (so it is a better alternative for "clean" eaters) but it also drastically increases the amount of calories and carbs in the smoothies!  A better alternative would be having your smoothie made with splenda... the same smoothie is now 263.40 calories, .22 grams of fat, 66.69 grams of carbs and 2.83 grams of protein (make it even healthier by adding a scoop of whey or soy protein)!

Other "healthy" options that turn out to not be so healthy after all:

• McDonald's Grilled Chicken Classic - 350 calories/9 grams fat/42 grams carbs/28 grams protein - not horrible but the kicker is 820 mg of sodium (that is 34% of your total recommended intake per day)
• Chick-fil-A Southwest Chargrilled Salad - 240 calories/9 grams fat/18 grams carbs/26 grams protein - GREAT choice - BUT add the dressing that comes with the salad:
• Spicy Dressing - 140 calories/14 grams of fat/2 grams of carbs/0 grams protein 
• New Totals - 380 calories/23 grams of fat/20 grams carbs/26 grams of protein
• Panera Bread Salmon Caesar Salad - 550 calories/39 grams of fat/16 grams carbs/32 grams protein/990mg sodium
• Arby's Market Fresh Roast Turkey & Swiss Sandwich - 710 calories/28 grams fat/78 grams carbs/39 grams protein
• Burger King Veggie Burger - 410 calories/16 grams fat/44 grams carbs/22 grams protein/1030 mg sodium
• Wendy's Apple Pecan Chicken Salad - 560 calories/27 grams fat/50 grams carbs/36 grams protein/1540 mg sodium

We have to take the time to do the research, to inform ourselves, to figure out what our options are if we have to eat out. If you work close to a Wendy's and it is the only convenient place to stop then go to their site, look at their menu and see what has the least amount of calories, fat, carbs and the most protein.  That is IF there is no other choice but I would HIGHLY recommend packing your lunch!  YOU have control over what you are eating when you do that! 

Not all restaurants have their nutritional information posted but a good percentage do.  There is much controversy as to whether or not the information is being reported accurately as well and there is a very good chance that it is not.  But the more informed you are and the more you train yourself to review nutritional information the better off you will be!